According to IMDb, it was one of the two favourite boyhood films of the future French Cinematheque curator Henri Langlois. Young Henri would imagine himself in the situation of the hero, a victim of plots who struggles to exact revenge by becoming successful. The existing print presents the whole story as one feature-length film. According to Cineanalyst at IMDb, the biggest alteration may be the dropping of the entire subplot involving Villefort's family: his father's Bonapartism, his daughter's romance with Morrel's son, and all the poisonings. Instead, more attention is given to Dantès and his various disguises. Actually, within the print available on YouTube Danglars in the end drowns himself, unable to cope with his guilt. Spanish Chocolate Amatller produced a series of 33 minicards for the French film serial, in Spain titled El Conde de Montecristo. Ivo Blom collected the complete series.
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 1. Photo: publicity still for Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 2. Photo: Léon Mathot as Edmond Dantès (middle).
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 3. Photo: the three conspirators Danglars (Alexandre Colas), Villefort (Albert Mayer), and Caderousse (Gilbert Dalleu).
Edmond Dantes
In the novel 'Le Comte de Monte-Cristo'(The Count of Monte-Cristo) the Sixth Coalition War has just ended. Edmond Dantès is a sprightly young man of 19, who is already a helmsman on the three-masted Le Pharaon. Fortune smiles at him from all sides. He is a skillful sailor, well-liked by the sailors, and the shipowner Pierre Morrel is pleased with him and is considering promoting him to captain in the near future. Moreover, Dantès is to marry the beautiful and sweet Catalan Mercedes.
Edmond's happiness now leads to jealousy among his friends. The accountant of Le Pharaon, Danglars, feels humiliated by Edmond's impending promotion; he himself would have liked to become captain. Edmond's salary, with which he supports his elderly father, leads to the jealousy of Gaspard Caderousse, Edmond's father's neighbour. Edmond's relationship and proposed marriage also arouse the jealousy of Fernando Mondego, Mercedes' first cousin. Fernando himself is infatuated with Mercedes, but she has given her heart to Edmond.
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 4. Photo: Léon Mathot as Edmond Dantès, surrounded by the conspirators: Mercedes, Baron Danglars, Villefort and Caderousse.
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 5. Photo: Léon Mathot as Edmond Dantès, the man who is arrested.
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 6. Photo: Léon Mathot as Edmond Dantès (the man on the left), and Max Charlier as Napoleon gives him a classic gesture, the pinch in the ear.
The State Prisoner, Abbe Faria and The Secret of Monte Cristo
In the presence of Fernando and the drunken Caderousse, Danglars writes an anonymous letter to prosecutor Gérard de Villefort in which Dantès is accused of being a Bonapartist. Dantès is arrested on his wedding day, 1 March 1815. It turns out that he is carrying a letter that he received on Elba and that is to be delivered to a certain Noirtier in Paris. De Villefort opens the letter and reads that Napoleon is preparing his return. De Villefort foresees that the letter can provide him with a glorious career, but then Dantès has to be eliminated. He has Dantès locked up for life in the Château d'If.
In prison, Dantès meets the Italian priest Abbé Faria, who is also an innocent prisoner. Faria is a very intelligent and educated man. From the scanty data, he concludes why Dantès is imprisoned. Meanwhile, Faria teaches Edmond foreign languages, history, economics, philosophy, and mathematics. Dantès also learns the prevailing etiquette and how to regain self-confidence and develop himself. But Faria knows more: shortly before his capture, he found a 300-year-old document stating that a fabulous treasure is hidden on the island of Montecristo. That treasure was once hidden by the De Spade family; that family has now died out and their treasure, therefore, belongs to the first finder.
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 7. Photo: publicity still for Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 8. Photo: Marc Gérard as Abbé Faria and Léon Mathot (right) as Edmond Dantès in Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 9. Photo: Léon Mathot (bearded man) as Edmond Dantès in Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 10. Photo: publicity still for Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
The Crime ant the Inn, The Vendetta, The Grottoes of Monte Cristo, The Philanthropist
1829: Faria dies of catalepsy in his cell and Dantès manages to escape by climbing into the body bag himself. He goes to Montecristo and unearths the treasure. He is now fabulously wealthy. Dantès returns to his birthplace Marseille. He disguises himself as a priest and calls himself Abbé Busoni. In this disguise, he has a conversation with Caderousse. He learns that the good shipowner Morrel has arranged for a pension and later a funeral for father Dantès. Morrel is now on the verge of bankruptcy. His ship le Pharaon has sunk. Danglars, Fernando, and De Villefort have made a fortune and now live in Paris. Fernando is married to Mercedes.
A few days later Dantès goes to Morrel. He arranges for Morrel to receive a small fortune from an unknown donor, apparently in gratitude for Morrel's having looked after Dantès' father. He also has a replica of the Pharaon built, so that it looks as if the ship has never sunk. This saves Morrel. Later, on his deathbed, Morrel will say that the benefactor could only have been Edmond Dantès.
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 11. Photo: Léon Mathot (middle) as Edmond Dantès in Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 12. Photo: Léon Mathot (right) as Edmond Dantès in Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 13. Photo: publicity still for Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 14. Photo: Léon Mathot as Edmond Dantès in Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
The Conquest of Paris
1838: After nine years of wandering, Dantès goes to Paris. After all these years, no one recognises him. He now calls himself the Count of Monte-Cristo, a mysterious nobleman with a luxurious lifestyle. He shows off his wealth by buying two palaces that can be decorated in a short time, by serving a dinner with fish that can only be found in faraway countries, and by travelling at record speed with changing rooms along the way.
The Count goes to see Danglars, who has become a successful banker. He shows letters of credit from the Roman bank Thomson & French (a bank he has bought up himself) and wishes to withdraw a substantial sum. Danglars has to give in to this in order not to damage his relationship with the Roman bank. The Count then bribes a telegraph operator to send a false stock exchange message. Danglars thus loses a considerable part of his fortune.
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 15. Photo: Léon Mathot as Edmond Dantès in Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 16. Photo: Léon Mathot as Edmond Dantès or The Count of Monte-Cristo, and Nelly Cormon als Mercedes in Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
Spanish minicard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, Series 2, no. 17. Photo: Léon Mathot as Edmond Dantès or The Count of Monte-Cristo, and Nelly Cormon als Mercedes in Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (Henri Pouctal, 1918).
Haydee's Story and Haydee's Revenge
During his wanderings, Dantès has bought a slave girl at the market in Albania. However, he does not treat her as a slave at all. Her name is Haydée and she is the daughter of Ali Pasha, the Pasha of Ioannina. Ali Pasha's confidant was called Fernando Mondego.
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